NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 12: Kyle Kennedy Kerr speaks onstage during the 2019 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple Of Hope Awards on December 12, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights )
According to her family’s obituary, Kyle Kennedy, granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died September 21 at her home in Westwood, Massachusetts. No cause of death was announced. An educator with degrees from Georgetown, Pace, and Harvard, she taught in New York City through Teach For America and championed opportunities for disadvantaged children. Her life was also marked by profound bereavement: her father, Michael Kennedy, died when she was 13, and her daughter Josephine, twin sister to Conor, died shortly after birth.

A severe spinal cord injury in 2020 left Kennedy with long-term paralysis and other medical challenges. Her family recalled her efforts to preserve her dry wit and determination while raising her sons, Conor and Declan. She also advocated for disability rights, testifying at the Massachusetts State House about discrimination in health care. Their remembrance honors a mother who cherished Josephine’s memory and remained committed to helping others through extraordinary hardship.